


For Always

by SelenaTerna



Series: Prompt Fics [18]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bad Wolf altered Rose, Doctor envy, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Teeny bit of angst, bonded! and married Doctor and Rose, cheeky meddling TARDIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 10:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15628545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelenaTerna/pseuds/SelenaTerna
Summary: The Eighth Doctor unexpectedly finds himself aboard the TARDIS with the Ninth Doctor and Rose. Naturally, it's anything but straightforward.





	For Always

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goingtothetardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/gifts).



> Helloooooo lovely people. This fic was written for a 'short (hahahhahahahhaha!) prompt that Heidi gave me about 12 million years ago on Tumblr. The prompt was Eight x Rose and 'do I know you'? I've obviously taken a few liberties with that, and the short, humorous ficlet I was writing turned into this slightly darker, much longer piece. Sorry? The muse had other ideas. I hope you don't hate it and I hope the Eight turned out OK (I've never written him before).  
> Unbeta'd.

“Well, this is unexpected.”

“Oi! Who’re-oh, bugger it, it’s _you_. _”_ The Doctor hauled himself out from under the console and stalked towards the other man, scowling.

“I beg your pardon, do I know you?” The curly-haired stranger asked in cultured tones, soft blue eyes alight with curiosity.

“Oh, come on.” The Doctor fixed the newcomer with a disgusted look. “Just _how_ was I this daft?”

“I say, there’s no need to be rude.” The velvet clad man huffed. Then he blinked. “Excuse me, but did you say _I?”_

“Give the man a medal!” The Doctor folded his arms. “Honestly, who else d’you think would be fixin’ the TARDIS, pretty boy?”

“Oh, well, yes, quite.” The Eighth Doctor blinked as he gazed around the TARDIS, the organic layout glowing softly. “She certainly looks…different.”

The Ninth Doctor shrugged, leather jacket creaking as he leaned against the railing. “ _I’m_ different.”

The Eighth Doctor’s eyes were drawn to his future self. “You certainly are.” He frowned. “For one thing, I seem to have lost any semblance of courtesy, this go-round.”

“Oh, don’t go actin’ like you’re offended, pretty boy.” The Ninth Doctor rolled his eyes. “We’ve always been rude.”

“I most certainly am not!” The other man huffed. “At least _one_ of us seems to bother observing some form of elementary courtesy.”

“Courtesy, right.” The Ninth Doctor lifted an eyebrow. “That’d be why we were sentenced to death on Kolpania for ‘criminal rudeness’ two weeks into that body you’re wearin’.”

The Eight Doctor cringed. “That was a misunderstanding.”

“And that time on Zilpgia when we insulted all four hundred and forty-seven chieftains at the same time ?”

“That was merely an… ill-advised attempt to inform them that their practice of dancing naked in broad daylight would only lead to sunburn.”

“And what about-”

“Alright, alright! Perhaps we’ve had a _few_ moments of unintentional discourtesy.” He straightened his cravat, shaking his head. “The fact remains that _your_ incarnation is utterly devoid of anything resembling courtesy or refinement. Honestly, even my _speech_ has become common.”

“Oi! Since when do we care about arbitrary social markers?” The Ninth Doctor rolled his eyes. “Forgot how much of a toff that body was.”

“I most certainly am not! I was merely pointing out that-

“Doctor, have you seen my- oh!” Rose stopped dead, halfway into the console room, staring at the Eighth Doctor. “Er, hello.” She turned to the Ninth Doctor. “I didn’t know we had visitors. Have we landed already?”

The Ninth Doctor’s expression softened as he looked at her. “No, not yet. And we don’t. Not exactly.”

“What? Then what’s with Mr. Darcy?” Her eyes bulged and she turned to the other man. “Wait… _Doctor?_ ”

“How’d you know?” The Ninth Doctor demanded. “He looks nothing like me.”

Rose shrugged. “Can’t explain it. I’d know you anywhere, no matter what you look like.”

“Indeed? If you’ll pardon the question, madam who might you be? Do I know you? I feel as though I should, somehow, but I….” The Eighth Doctor frowned. “This body has the most appalling memory, I’m afraid. It’s a bit of a problem, actually.”

The Ninth Doctor grunted. “Not your only problem, either.”

“I say! Is that really necessary?” The Eighth Doctor demanded, before turning back to a gaping Rose. “Please do excuse my rudeness, but regretfully, I don’t have a cordial relationship with myself.”

“You do know that to anyone else that sounds absolutely _mental_ , don’t you?” Rose shook herself out of her shock and strode over to the newcomer. “Rose Tyler.”

“Who’s that?”

Rose laughed, much to the Ninth Doctor’s visible annoyance. “No, that’s my name- I’m Rose Tyler.”

“Oh, I see! I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Tyler.” The curly-haired man bowed.

Rose raised an eyebrow and looked over at the fuming Ninth Doctor. “You were smooth, I’ll give you that.”

“I am merely inspired, my dear.” The Eighth Doctor smoothly took her hand and raised it to his lips.

“Oi!” The Ninth Doctor growled, striding over to the pair and forcibly taking Rose’s hand from the other man. “That’s enough! Get your smarmy lips off m’wife!”

Rose swallowed a laugh. “He’s just sayin’ hello, Doctor.”

“Quite! No need to-did you say _wife?”_

“Too right, I did!” The Ninth Doctor slipped an arm about Rose’s waist and pulled her close. “Wife. Bonded spouse. Take your pick!”

“Bonded- _what?”_ The Eighth Doctor gaped.

“Close your mouth, you look like an idiot,” the Ninth Doctor grunted before turning to Rose. “That reminds me, we haven’t visited Rickey the Idiot for a good long while. Few hundred years, at least.”

“Doctor,” she said warningly.

“What?” We haven’t.” He peered at her innocently. “Just thought you might have a hankerin’ for idiots after all that time. Although, with Genius over there, you might be set for another few hundred years.”

“A few hundred- who are you?” The Eighth Doctor stared hard at her, studying the bonds he hadn’t seen before, connecting her to both the Doctor and the TARDIS. “ _What_ are you?”

The Ninth Doctor growled. “Watch it.”

“Doctor, take it easy.” She laid a hand on his arm, calming him. “’S probably a shock, yeah?” She smiled at the other man. “’S not exactly normal for a human to live that long, let alone bond with a Time Lord.”

“What have we done?” The Eighth Doctor breathed. “She’s human….or was human. What madness is this? What atrocity against nature have we committed? What have we done to her?”

The Ninth Doctor fixed his past self with a look of utter disgust. “You know better than that. Stupid sod.”

“Doctor,” Rose chided. “Easy now.” Turning to the other man, she spoke soothingly. “You didn’t do anything. I did. And I had help.”

“You?” The Eighth Doctor stared at her, fascinated and terrified. “What could you have done to alter your existence at such a fundamental level?”

“I-” Rose looked at her Doctor. “He can’t know, can he?”

The Ninth Doctor shrugged. “Gonna have to hide the memories anyway- already seen too much, so tell him what you like.”

“Oh.” Rose turned back to the other man. “You sure you want to know?”

“I-I so very much fear that I don’t, but I _must.”_ The Eighth Doctor swallowed. “Please.”

Rose gave him a gentle smile, slowly making her way towards him. “I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me.”

“What?” The curly-haired man gasped. “To look into the Heart of the TARDIS…not even I know what would happen. It’s dangerous! What in the name of the Seven Systems would cause you to do such a thing?” He turned to the Ninth Doctor, glaring. “And how could you allow it?”

“Oi, first off, no one _allows_ Rose to do anything.” The Ninth Doctor folded his arms and glared. “And second, I wasn’t there. We were in a spot of trouble and I sent her off in the TARDIS and she ripped open the console to come back.”

“But to look into the Heart of the TARDIS!” The Eighth Doctor shook his head in horror. “It’s madness!”

“I’d do it again,” Rose said vehemently. “You were in trouble and you _tricked me_ into the TARDIS and sent me off.” She glared at the Ninth Doctor. “Still mad about that, by the way.”

The Ninth Doctor sighed. “You can’t blame me for tryin’ to keep you safe.”

“Yeah but I can blame you for trickin’ me and sendin’ me away!”

“I apologised, didn’t I? For the next decade!”

Rose nodded. “Too right you did. Sendin’ me away from you!”

The Eighth Doctor shook his head in bewilderment. “He sent you to safety and you went back? Ripping open the Heart of the TARDIS to do so?”

“Yep.” Rose nodded. “That’s about it really.”

“But…but why? Why would you endanger yourself in such a fashion? And why would the TARDIS allow you to?” The Eighth Doctor demanded.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Because I love you, you stupid git. An’ as for the TARDIS, because she agreed with me and because she probably didn’t feel like rotting on some street corner somewhere. She was right pissed at you.”

The Eighth Doctor stared. “You…can hear her?”

“Course I can. I looked into her and she looked into me.” Rose rubbed the nearest strut affectionately the ship hummed happily. “We’re….bound. Forever. She’s a part of me, now.”

“And…and she changed you? Your lifespan?”

“No,” Rose said, smiling at him. “I did that.”

“She swallowed the Vortex,” the Ninth Doctor said quietly, walking to her side and pulling her to him. “She saved us and nearly died doing it.”

“Merciful heavens,” the other man whispered. “How…nothing and no one can contain the Vortex. No one! How are you still alive?”

Rose smiled, leaning into her Doctor. “She protected me, healed me. And while we were joined, she gave me the choice, told me what to do if I wanted to stay with my Doctor. And I made my choice.”

“You chose to forsake everything you know…for me?” The Eighth Doctor trembled. “To outlive everyone you love? In Rassilon’s name, _why_?”

Once again, Rose slipped away from her Doctor and moved towards the other man, looking intently at him. “Because I love you. Because I want you safe, my Doctor.”

“I….I don’t….” The trembling Time Lord turned to the TARDIS. “I don’t understand, why are you doing this? Why have you brought me here? Why show me what I won’t have for lifetimes yet?”

“When are you?” The Ninth Doctor asked, his tone surprisingly gentle.

“I…I’ve just been summoned back to Gallifrey,” the Eighth Doctor whispered. “There is a storm coming, a darkness that looms.” He took a deep breath. “It frightens me.”

The Ninth Doctor looked at him with sudden understanding. “That’s why she’s brought you, then.”

“Why?”

“To show you that there’s somethin’ left.” The Ninth Doctor’s eyes burned blue fire, so different from the soft blue of his previous body. “To show you we have somethin’ to hang on to, to fight for.”

The Eighth Doctor gazed at his future self, seeing the weariness, the shadows, the _guilt_ that he carried. “It’s bad, isn’t it? What’s coming?”

“Yes.” The Ninth Doctor couldn’t lie to him. “It’s bad. So bad you’ll wish more than once that you’d ended it all.” He suddenly smiled. “And, just when you think it’s all gone, that there’s nothing left, one day you’ll meet a nosy pink and yellow human who’ll take your hand and run, and you’ll never stop runnin.’” His eyes burned as he looked at his wife. “And everythin’ you saw, everythin’ we ever suffered will have been worth it.”

“Better with two,” she said, blinking back tears.

“Better with two,” he repeated, gently touching his lips to hers before turning back to the other man. “Now you understand?”

“I, yes.” He said hoarsely, his eyes filled with fear and sorrow at what was to come. “But what good will it do me now, to see this, when I have to forget?”

“You’ll know,” the Ninth Doctor said. “Even if you haven’t the foggiest _why_ , you’ll know there’s somethin’ you’re fightin’ for, somethin’ you’re livin’ for. And one day…when it’s time….you’ll remember.”

The Eight Doctor nodded jerkily. “I…Rose, may I ask you…I must know….”

“You can ask me anythin’,” she said, taking his hand. “Anythin’.”

“I….do you….have you ever regretted it? Changing yourself? Bonding with me?”

“Never,” she said vehemently. “From the moment I met you, I was only ever scared of losin’ you, of not bein’ enough for you. Forever with you…’s all I ever wanted.”

“Truly? It was worth sacrificing everything?”

“Truly. An’ I’d do it all over again tomorrow. I’d do anythin’ for you, Doctor.” She smiled, gently caressing his cheek. “My Doctor.”

“Your Doctor?” He trembled. “But you don’t know me.”

“You’re always my Doctor,” she told him, moving closer. “No matter what face you wear or if you know me or not, you’re always my Doctor.” With that, she pressed her lips gently to his.

“Oi! That’s my wife, you’re kissin’!”

The broke apart at the Ninth Doctor’s growl, tears glistening on both their cheeks.

“You do realise, old chap,” the Eighth Doctor said, smoothing his jacket and trying to appear sanguine, “that that makes her my wife as well?”

“Not yet, she’s not!” The Ninth Doctor growled.

“My, but we are possessive.” He shook his head and turned to Rose. “Am I always like this?”

Rose laughed, slipping her hand into the Ninth Doctor’s. “You have no idea. Some bloke on Palmeria kissed my feet, and I practically had to sit on you to stop you goin’ for him.”

“Kissed your _feet_?” The Eighth Doctor frowned. “How unforgivably presumptuous! I don’t recall having a wife since my first body, but I’m almost certain that is inexcusably intimate!”

“An’ if there was any doubt at all that you’re him in every way that matters, that’s nixed it.” Rose shook her head. “Possessive old sod, every time.”

“I…well…that’s different!” The Eighth Doctor pointed at his future self. “I’m still him, and you’re my wife! This other fellow had no right at all to be kissing any part of you!”

“That’s about the only sensible thing you’ve said since you got here,” the Ninth Doctor told him.

“Doctor!”

“What?” The two asked simultaneously.

“Honestly, you’re ridiculous,” she said, shaking her head.

“But…you love me anyway.” The Ninth Doctor grinned smugly.

“Daft Time Lord.”

The Eighth Doctor shook his head. “I can’t…I’ve no idea what to make of this. Moments ago I was preparing to return to Gallifrey, fearing the future, and now I find I’m to take an unknown young woman to wife, she’s done the impossible for me and I have to forget it.” He turned and fixed his future self with a look. “To say nothing of the fact that my future self seems to carry the weight of the universe on his shoulders.”

The Ninth Doctor sighed. “Don’t ask. Just, trust me- you’ll get through it, impossible as it seems, you’ll hold onto Rose, even without knowing it, and you’ll remember her when the time is right.”

The Eighth Doctor stared intently at his future for a moment, before nodding. “I suppose you’re right- the darkness will come when it comes. There’s no need to seek it before it’s time.”

The TARDIS chimed urgently, lights flickering, and the Eighth Doctor flinched. 

“It’s time already? This is all the consolation I am to have?”

The TARDIS hummed mournfully.

“Very well,” the Eighth Doctor sighed. Looking at Rose and his future self, he nodded. “For the future, then.”

“For the future,” the Ninth Doctor said quietly, holding Rose to him.

“For always,” Rose whispered.

“For always,” the Eighth Doctor repeated, his eyes fixed solely on her. 

With that, he vanished.

Rose stifled a sob and turned to bury her face in her Doctor’s jacket. “Does he ever remember? Even a little?”

“Once, just before the end,” he told her quietly, his chin resting on the top of her head. “But I carried it with me, that future, even without knowing how or why, and it kept me goin.’”

Wiping at her face, Rose pulled back to look him in the eye. “Did you mean it?”

“What?”

“That it’s worth it…worth everythin’ you’ve been through?”

“More than worth it,” he told her, pulling her close. “I’d do it all again, to have you.” He kissed her gently. “An’ now I do. For always.”

_Fin_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come follow me at countessselena.tumblr.com


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